Stop and search could be curtailed in wake of Mark Duggan verdict

Controversial stop and search tactics used by the police could be
substantially cut back to improve community relations in the aftermath of
the Mark Duggan verdict, the Guardian reported

A stop and search taking place in LondonPhoto: Alamy

By Keith Perry

12:53AM GMT 10 Jan 2014

Controversial stop and search techniques used by the police could be reformed by the Home Secretary, it has emerged.

The tactic could be substantially cut back to improve community relations especially in the aftermath of the Mark Duggan inquest, the Guardian reported.

Theresa May is to tell the police they should carry out fewer stop and searches, to carry them out with greater respect and crack down on officers unlawfully using their powers through ignorance or bias.

Government action is expected to be announced in the coming weeks on the use of stop and search, a power that is used disproportionately against ethnic minority Britons, with most searches not leading to an arrest.

One plan being considered by May is cutting back the use of section 60, which allows an officer to stop someone without needing reasonable suspicion they are involved in a crime. Some senior officers fear the government may scrap section 60 altogether, but that is thought unlikely.

Ethnic minority Britons were subjected to nearly one and a half million more stop and searches than if the police had treated them the same as white people, between 1999 and 2009, research commissioned by the Guardian showed.

The rate of stop and search against black people during that period also doubled.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan police commissioner, said that more needed to be done on stop and search.

"We do have a particular concern about our relationship with younger members of the black community. That's why since I became commissioner I have significantly reduced the use of stop and search. We rarely use the powers [section 60] we have to do blanket searches across an area, and concentrate on searching where we have intelligence to suggest we should."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Nobody should ever be stopped just on the basis of their skin colour or ethnicity.

"The government supports the ability of police officers to stop and search suspects, but it must be applied fairly and in a way which builds community confidence."